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misslj_author) wrote2010-05-01 07:32 am
misslj_author) wrote2010-05-01 07:32 am
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Writing Meme: Day One.
Writing Meme Day One: Tell us about your favorite writing project/universe that you've worked with and why.
So far, there are two. I am, I admit, my own harshest critic but there are two projects that are like my babies to me, even though one isn't finished and the other needs to be beaten into some semblance of acceptibility before I even trot it past one of my Awesome Editors. That one is a completed first draft, the first one is about half way through.
The Order of Shadows Trilogy: is half finished, I started it a few years ago intending it to be one novel and it's grown into a trilogy. The reason I haven't sent the first novel out for editing yet is that I want to finish all three for one thing and for another, I know how much I hate it when I'm reading a series and it isn't finished yet, with no clear sign of when the next book in the series will be released or, in some cases, if it ever will be released. The frustration at being cut off half way through a highly engaging story and left with a cliffhanger has made me determined not to do the same thing and I want the first drafts of each novel finished at the very least. The story is set in a dystopian future where humanity has returned to a medieval, agrarian lifestyle sans the majority rule of the landed/titled classes but with an overall rulership by a seemingly benevolent quasi-religious order called the Order of Shadows. The story follows an accolyte of the Order as he uncovers the truth about the history of the world post the Apocalyptic event that set back technology to the middle ages and his companions that he meets along the way. Book one is set in the Temple of Shadows itself, inside Mount Broken (a play on words of the real name of the mountain - Brocken) in Germany, book two is set in the catacombs beneath the city of Paris, France and book three will be set in Russia. The events take place five hundred years in the future.
Broken Wings: is completed, and now I need to go over it and make it read like a story of some kind rather than a hodge-podge of words and ideas. The latter is all very Dali-esque but doesn't really make for a good narrative that people will want to read. I need to understand that as well as being my own worst critic, being my own favourite comedian isn't really conducive to writing a good story and in-jokes are all very well and good... unless no one else can get the joke. The story is set in the present day with the Apocalypse looming over humanity. (Hm, I'm detecting a theme here.) It is set in Scotland, the Vatican and Sydney, Australia and features Archangels, demons, humans, war, and the beautiful coastline of my country. This is a m/m romance novella, clocking in so far at 50K words but I'm sure that word count will change drastically by the time I and my Awesome Editors have beaten it into shape. My love of this story is firstly the idea of it, even if I know I have to alter a few things so as not to send medievalists like myself into a raging fury (I know how nitpicky I can be of anything set in or with a basis in medieval history, so I know I have to alter a few things to make it clear that this is fiction). However, my main love in this story is the character of Archangel Gabriel, who I am not ashamed to admit is my baby and continues to surprise me no matter how much I write him. Just when I think I've got a handle on him, my muse decides to take an unexpected turn with the character that makes me love writing him all the more.
Both stories required a lot of research and world-buildling. Research is something that I am good at and I love it. Everything I've written has involved tremendous amounts of research; once a research junkie, always a research junkie, I suppose. I've learned a lot in the course of researching things for these stories. World-building has never been a particular forte of mine, but in the cases of these two stories, I've found myself creating worlds that, while set in real places, are fantastical enough to be, I hope, plausible as a possible future or alternate present. Both stories also meant I spent a lot of time playing around with Google Earth, particularly Order... and I've found myself becoming distracted by random tangents as I work out how far a horse could travel in winter from Mount Brocken towards Paris and what historical landmarks one would find on the way, the sort of terrain that needs to be covered. There's also the joy I get from writing certain characters; in Order... it's the Varangian Guards, who are the protectors of the Royal House of Russia and can be hired as expensive and efficient mercenaries. In Broken Wings, it's Gabriel and his brother, Michael.
So far, there are two. I am, I admit, my own harshest critic but there are two projects that are like my babies to me, even though one isn't finished and the other needs to be beaten into some semblance of acceptibility before I even trot it past one of my Awesome Editors. That one is a completed first draft, the first one is about half way through.
The Order of Shadows Trilogy: is half finished, I started it a few years ago intending it to be one novel and it's grown into a trilogy. The reason I haven't sent the first novel out for editing yet is that I want to finish all three for one thing and for another, I know how much I hate it when I'm reading a series and it isn't finished yet, with no clear sign of when the next book in the series will be released or, in some cases, if it ever will be released. The frustration at being cut off half way through a highly engaging story and left with a cliffhanger has made me determined not to do the same thing and I want the first drafts of each novel finished at the very least. The story is set in a dystopian future where humanity has returned to a medieval, agrarian lifestyle sans the majority rule of the landed/titled classes but with an overall rulership by a seemingly benevolent quasi-religious order called the Order of Shadows. The story follows an accolyte of the Order as he uncovers the truth about the history of the world post the Apocalyptic event that set back technology to the middle ages and his companions that he meets along the way. Book one is set in the Temple of Shadows itself, inside Mount Broken (a play on words of the real name of the mountain - Brocken) in Germany, book two is set in the catacombs beneath the city of Paris, France and book three will be set in Russia. The events take place five hundred years in the future.
Broken Wings: is completed, and now I need to go over it and make it read like a story of some kind rather than a hodge-podge of words and ideas. The latter is all very Dali-esque but doesn't really make for a good narrative that people will want to read. I need to understand that as well as being my own worst critic, being my own favourite comedian isn't really conducive to writing a good story and in-jokes are all very well and good... unless no one else can get the joke. The story is set in the present day with the Apocalypse looming over humanity. (Hm, I'm detecting a theme here.) It is set in Scotland, the Vatican and Sydney, Australia and features Archangels, demons, humans, war, and the beautiful coastline of my country. This is a m/m romance novella, clocking in so far at 50K words but I'm sure that word count will change drastically by the time I and my Awesome Editors have beaten it into shape. My love of this story is firstly the idea of it, even if I know I have to alter a few things so as not to send medievalists like myself into a raging fury (I know how nitpicky I can be of anything set in or with a basis in medieval history, so I know I have to alter a few things to make it clear that this is fiction). However, my main love in this story is the character of Archangel Gabriel, who I am not ashamed to admit is my baby and continues to surprise me no matter how much I write him. Just when I think I've got a handle on him, my muse decides to take an unexpected turn with the character that makes me love writing him all the more.
Both stories required a lot of research and world-buildling. Research is something that I am good at and I love it. Everything I've written has involved tremendous amounts of research; once a research junkie, always a research junkie, I suppose. I've learned a lot in the course of researching things for these stories. World-building has never been a particular forte of mine, but in the cases of these two stories, I've found myself creating worlds that, while set in real places, are fantastical enough to be, I hope, plausible as a possible future or alternate present. Both stories also meant I spent a lot of time playing around with Google Earth, particularly Order... and I've found myself becoming distracted by random tangents as I work out how far a horse could travel in winter from Mount Brocken towards Paris and what historical landmarks one would find on the way, the sort of terrain that needs to be covered. There's also the joy I get from writing certain characters; in Order... it's the Varangian Guards, who are the protectors of the Royal House of Russia and can be hired as expensive and efficient mercenaries. In Broken Wings, it's Gabriel and his brother, Michael.
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Also? Order of Shadows NAO NAO NAO PLZ.
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Uh. *eyedart* Hm. Look! A pony!
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